The Final Straw
by nevertalk
Summary: Phoenix Wright was always an inspiration to Apollo.


I can't breathe. I can't move or speak. All I can do is remember; remember the events of this chilly Sunday morning that lead me to this transfixed spot in the middle of this hotel room.

I remember Mr. Wright telling me that Lamiroir was in L.A again and was inviting the Wright Anything Agency to dinner at her hotel. I was thrilled, giddy even, and must have checked my hair a million times to make sure I looked my best. The singer had just gotten her sight back, after all, and I had to make a good impression. Never once did I question her motivations or why this had all been planned at the last minute.

I remember that evening in the taxi with Trucy and Mr. Wright. I noticed that spirit medium the pair of them was so enchanted with wasn't with us. She and Mr. Wright had been attached at the hip since he had his name cleared, especially if food was involved, and the Gatewater Imperial Hotel was known for its lavish spreads. However, I said nothing. Once again I ignored a red flag.

Instead, conversation was genial and light hearted, showing no signs of the shady Mr. Wright I knew up until that point. Trucy attempted to pull various objects out of the cab's seat cushions as if the whole world was her prop and I continued to fuss over my hair in my reflection in the window. If even Mr. Wright was clean shaven and in his suit, I knew this was going to be a formal event; doubly so considering he talked Trucy into forgoing her magician's costume for one night.

It wasn't until we arrived that I finally felt something was amiss. Instead of meeting our hostess in the hotel's luxurious dining hall, we were headed to her room. Not completely out of the ordinary, but I could feel my bracelet trying to tell me something the whole way there. As Mr. Wright knocked on her door, I could so acutely feel his tension it was like it was my own. That wasn't normal. Mr. Wright was never nervous. He had always been an impossible read.

I had no time to ponder the question. Lamiroir opened the door for us and somehow I could tell she was smiling behind her veil. I wondered why she would wear such a thing offstage, let alone to greet guests, but rather than be rude I greeted her just as warmly. Trucy tipped an imaginary hat and the three of us entered her room. She shut the door behind us and offered us all a seat in her spacious quarters, fit for a queen. As if to remind me of my earlier apprehension, she remained standing.

"Thank you for coming," she started. That voice of hers was as musical and soothing as ever but her eyes showed the unease I felt all around me. "There's a very important reason I invited you all. There's something I have to tell you and... there's no sense in waiting."

She glanced at Mr. Wright and he nodded knowingly. I could feel my bracelet as tight as it had ever been, strangling my wrist and keeping me from getting comfortable. Out of habit I tried to perceive just what that old poker player was hiding but my attention was quickly drawn to Lamiroir as she reached up to her veil and slowly, almost tortuously, removed it.

"I... I don't know if you remember me, Trucy," she said softly. "But I remember you now."

A hush blanketed the room like a thick cloth as my partner looked the woman over with great care. Then it struck her. I could see the light bulb click on plain as day. Trucy's hand slowly moved from her lap and placed itself over her heart. Her jaw hung slack and her body trembled. I wondered just what the singer meant to her but then she uttered a single word I never expected to hear.

"Mommy?"

Mommy. There was no way. My own jaw dropped. I looked from Trucy to Lamiroir and back again. I looked to Mr. Wright as if I expected him to share my confusion but he only looked on pensively. He knew. Somehow he knew the whole time. He actually found Thalassa Gramarye and she had been right in front of Trucy's face only a few months ago.

I saw the singer nod in affirmation and a quivering smile formed on her face.

"Mommy!" Trucy exclaimed and she launched herself out of her seat and into Lamiroir's, or rather Thalassa's, arms.

As tears formed in their eyes I could feel them trying to form in mine. Trucy had been begging for a mother the entire time I had known her and to see her reuniting with her old one, the one we both thought dead, was incredible. Thalassa didn't just have her sight back, but her memories. I wondered what else she remembered. I wondered what that meant for the current "Wright family". That was when I noticed Mr. Wright stand to speak.

"I think I'll go tell the front desk we're ready for dinner," he said and exited without another word. Again, I was so preoccupied my suspicions failed me and I paid Mr. Wright no mind.

"You're really Thalassa Gramarye?" I asked.

Thalassa only smiled at me over the girl in her embrace and nodded. She stood upright and let go of Trucy to pull back a sleeve. On her wrist was a thick, bronze colored bracelet, just like mine. That was the final piece of the puzzle. Even trying to push away my skepticism, the evidence was too strong to ignore. I felt my heart beat faster as if it figured things out before my brain.

Thalassa took Trucy's hands and put them palms up in front of her. Next, she slid off her bracelet and placed it in my partner's upturned hands. "A gift for my beautiful daughter," she said. She looked to me and Trucy's head followed her gaze. "After all, I have already given the other one to my handsome son."

Son. That single word brings me back to where I am now, gaping at her like an idiot with my feet rooted to the floor. All those connections I never made tied themselves up and all I can do is stand in front of my birth mother and be bombarded by my own thoughts. Looking to my wrist, I see the identical bracelet on my own arm telling me the truth I already know but can't believe. This is too much of a coincidence. This was orchestrated.

"Apollo's really my brother?" I hear Trucy ask over the confusion in my head.

That's impossible. It's all too convenient. No wonder Mr. Wright insisted I defend him. No wonder he called me back to the office even after I stormed out on him for giving me false evidence. He had to keep the siblings together. How long had he known? How _could_ he have even known when Thalassa didn't even know herself? Why was this a secret from us for so long? Why would they choose to tell us _now... _and why was _I_ an orphan? Why was I left behind? Why does she even think she has any claim to me?

"Apollo... are you alright?" I hear that woman, my mother, ask me.

I can't think straight. Everything in my head is moving too fast to make any sense. I just look at her for a time before finally forcing out the single word, "Why?"

"Apollo, I never meant to-"

"No!" I interrupt like a gunshot. She doesn't get to explain. I've already figured her out. "You never meant to leave _Trucy_. You were injured and lost your memory. I understand that but how does that explain me? I don't even know if 'Apollo Justice' is really my name all because you abandoned me at an orphanage!"

She's taken aback, clearly hurt by what I said. Good. Trucy looks hurt too, but she'll forgive me. I can feel my heart hammering in my chest and my fingernails cutting into my palms. If Thalassa wants to give me a good reason for disposing of me, now's her chance.

"Apollo... I was so young, I..."

Youth? That was her big reason?

"I was even younger," I interrupt again with a raspy hiss. I can hear the venom in my voice; taste its bitterness. "So you thought this would make amends? You thought I'd just take this in stride, sit down to a nice family meal, and things would be fine? You were _never_ my mother! Why should you start now!?"

She's crying now. Trucy's trying to comfort her and she's looking at me like I'm some kind of monster. Maybe she won't forgive me, but if nothing else, I hope she can at least understand in time. Either way, I think this evening is over.

"You thought I'd just let the woman who threw me away take me back now that it's convenient for her?" I demand. "You clearly never thought I'd do anything with my life, but look at me now. I'm a successful defense attorney, one of the youngest in America, and I did it all _without_ you! Enjoy your daughter."

I should leave. I need to leave. If I stay I'll just get angrier. I turn my back to the women and head for the exit with my head still pounding and seething. With the haze clouding my vision I barely notice the door opening before I reach it.

"I heard shouting, is everything... all..."

Mr. Wright's voice dies on this tongue as he spots me right in front of him. I move to step past him and he catches me. Touching me now was a mistake. I roughly push him into the door frame to get him off me and I head down the hall. God help him if he follows me.

"Apollo!"

Of course he does. He can never stay out of anyone's business.

"Apollo, I'm talking to you!"

No, you're shouting at me. Go to hell.

"Apollo! Stop!"

I stop, but I don't obey. I turn to face him and shout, "You knew!"

"Of course I knew," he answers. His voice is so much calmer than mine. If he's afraid of making a scene it's too late. "We had to find the right time to tell you."

"How is there a 'right time'?" I demand. "Why should I even care?"

"Why should you care!? Apollo, she's your mother!"

"She hasn't been my mother in 22 years! All she did was give birth to me and dump me on a doorstep! What makes you think I need her now!?"

Mr. Wright doesn't answer right away. Not like he can. I can feel myself panting. I feel the buzzing in my head as I glare at him. I dare him to answer and instead I see him look away from me. I win. I turn to leave when I hear him finally speak again.

"Because she loves you," he responds quietly.

Damn him. I clench my fists. I should punch him. I _want_ to punch him. It's what he deserves for trying to play the love card, especially considering she's never shown that love to me before.

"How convenient," I utter. My voice is so hollow I can barely believe it's mine. "She loves me now that I'm a success but not when I was a burden to her? What a great mom. I'm leaving. Don't wait up."

"Apollo," he tries again. I'm really sick of hearing him say that name whether it's really mine or not. "Be mad at Thalassa if you want, go out and clear your head, but at least think of what this means to Trucy."

That does it. At the sound of my sister's name I whirl around and jab my finger into his chest. "Don't you _dare_ try and guilt me with her!" I shout into his face. "Trucy's not just some incentive to keep me around! What gives you the right to determine what I do and don't know about my own life!? I'm sick of you and your games! I'm sick of your meddling and your lying and your secret missions!"

I grab the tiny golden badge on my chest and rip it loose from my vest, tearing threads loose like entrails. "Most of all I'm just sick of you! I _quit!_"

I finish by throwing my badge at his feet and I storm out of the hotel. I don't hear him follow this time. Good. The only regret I have is leaving Trucy with those liars. She doesn't deserve this. She was so happy to see her mother again. I never had one.

I catch fresh air when I exit the hotel but it's not as calming as I hoped. I can't silence the noise in my head. I keep trying to argue with the imaginary Phoenix Wright that's still offering up strawman arguments in my mind. How dare he try to control my life like that? Didn't he think if I wanted to find my parents I'd have looked for them already?

I only wore this bracelet because I wanted my parents to see me; see what I did without them. I still don't even know who my father is or if he's even still alive. If Thalassa's all alone, then probably not. Maybe she just deserted him too. Then she shacked up with Shadi Enigmar, the man who probably shot her, abandoned Trucy, and ruined lives in the wake. No one needs a mother like that.

I tug at my vest, pretending like that simple gesture can shield me from the chill of my last thought. I know I hurt Trucy saying what I said. It's not her fault she's the only Gramarye who isn't rotten to the core. It's not her fault she was taken in by a con artist who can't stop meddling in other people's affairs. I want to apologize, but to her and her alone. I don't know how to do that yet.

I don't even know where I'm going right now. My apartment, I guess, but where after that? I threw my badge away. I can't afford my own office and I'm sure as hell not going back to the man who tried to shape my life the way he wanted. Knowing him he won't give up either. He'll probably use Trucy to get at me again too, the bastard. I'm sorry I ever became a defense attorney now that I've seen how corrupt even our supposed "heroes" are. Everyone has some level of darkness to them any more. No one is innocent.

Even my clients. They weren't murderers, but they were still all criminals. Wocky was a gangster, Machi was a smuggler, and even Vera was a forger whether she knew it or not. Not one of them had a clean record. Fitting, since I started my career with the dirtiest of them all.

Why did I ever look up to him, anyway? He was always in the news as someone who turned around impossible cases. He always made such a difference. Those mediums in Kurain were considered frauds until Phoenix Wright cleared their names. Miles Edgeworth was the Demon Prosecutor until Phoenix Wright cleared his name. Then he threatened their reputations all over again, using them as connections to put together his Jurist System. Then he used _me_ to hammer the final nail.

Me. He used _me_. He singled me out personally.

I was the one who could take down Mr. Gavin and I was Trucy's brother. Handing me forged evidence and putting my career at risk before it even started was nothing to him if he could kill two birds with one stone. I was a pawn. Just like Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth, and even his own daughter I played my own role in his little game.

That means my hands aren't clean either. I suddenly feel sick. I unwittingly helped change the entire face of our legal system all for his petty revenge. This is my responsibility now. I might have thrown away my defense attorney's badge, but I can't just lie down and let this happen. If I want to pursue justice, that name I've always considered mine, I'll have to do it from the other side. So be it. I've been used by criminals as a defense attorney my whole career anyway. Now I have to set things right.

The dark age of law has come, but I'll bring a turnabout.


End file.
